W hen Richard Yong and Winfred Yu launched the Triton Super High Roller Series back this January in Manila, Philippines, it was the first time that high profile Asian businessmen left the confines of the exclusive high stakes cash games to participate in a live tournament setting. With a field joined by poker elites from all over the world, the series was a great success leading to two more installments.
A Successful Mix of Pros and Chinese VIPs
At the third installment of the series, which brought in a prize pool of over HKD 48,000,000, the mix of players was similar to the first event with an increase in numbers of both Chinese VIPs and pros in the field. In a brief interview with Chinese businessman Huang Shan, a newcomer to the Triton SHR Series, he expressed,
“I don’t play the high roller events a lot but this is wonderful. I play cash games in China but I started playing tournaments this year. I feel excited yet relaxed when playing the pros because poker is not like golf, if you are up against a professional, you don’t have a chance, but in poker even if you know you are the underdog you might still get the chance.”
Gauging by the willingness of the pros to communicate and exchange some of their poker knowledge, the rapport between the two different worlds has created a welcoming atmosphere for both sides. This in turn has developed into a great experience for the businessmen and good value for the pros to continuously be a part of this blossoming relationship.
Huang confirmed this camaraderie,
“I am still learning but I really enjoyed talking to them. They taught me everything, even their secrets. Even if I busted out, I had a good time playing with the pros.”
Triton SHR Series designed for VIPs
In order for the series to continuously be a success, the driving force of the Triton SHR Series, Richard Yong, shed light on the adjustments made in order to accommodate the needs of the VIPs. The first major factor was the length of the tournament. Unlike the pros, the businessmen only have a limited amount of free time to dedicate to a poker event therefore it had to be a maximum of three days for a tournament.
The next consideration was location. And businessmen always rely on location. Choosing Manila as the initial destination was perfect being so close to Macau and China. The venue also had to be top notch, nothing short of a five star rating to meet all the needs of the VIPs. With the Poker King Club owning two VIP rooms at Solaire Resort & Casino, it was another perfect choice to hold the Triton SHR Series at the venue.
Upcoming Events
With interest continuously growing, there is a demand to hold more events in the future.
Yong told Somuchpoker that the Triton SHR Series is already in the planning stages of its next events. He hinted at the possibility of more events in 2017, not only in Manila, but also in Montenegro and another stop possibly in Australia. For the Montenegro leg, Yong’s ambition is to hold a big charity event with an entry fee akin to Guy Laliberte’s One Drop 1 million euro buy-in tournament. Yong is confident that the Triton SHR Series will be able to pool in higher numbers than the One Drop. In addition, they plan to have a 200,000 – 300,000 High Roller event.
(Recap and pictures by Somuchpoker)